1. Technical Field
The invention in some embodiments generally relates to an electric PCB (printed circuit board) heating component for heating adjacent units and electric components arranged on an electronic circuit board, comprising at least one fastening element by which the PCB heating component is attachable to the electronic circuit board adjacent the other components, at least one heating element for generating thermal energy, and at least one heating body which emits via a heat radiating surface the thermal energy generated by the heating element when the PCB heating component is in operation, said thermal energy heating the electric components.
2. Description of the Related Art
One field of application of such PCB heating components is, e.g., in electric or electronic devices which are operated outdoor and/or under cold climatic conditions, e.g. transmitters for the cellular phone network, ticket vending machines or outdoor cameras. In order to avoid negative effects, e.g. longer response times or malfunctions, of the low ambient temperatures on the electric components arranged on an electronic circuit board or conductor board, the PCB heating component, which is used for heating the components to a predetermined temperature, is provided on the electronic circuit boards.
A further reason for the use of said electric PCB heating components is, e.g., a high humidity of the ambient air, which may result in an undesirable and possibly fault-causing condensation on the electric components. Such condensation is prevented by the above-mentioned PCB heating component which heats the components to a temperature above a condensation temperature.
Examples of such PCB heating components are described in JP 2000188171A, U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,674 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,621,055 B2. In the case of the PCB heating component described in JP 2000188171A two heating elements, which are arranged on an electronic circuit board, are heated in a temperature-dependent manner by an amplifier element. U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,674 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,621,055 B2 each describe electronic circuit boards having integrated therein a heating layer for heating the components arranged on the electronic circuit board.
Another field of use of the above-mentioned PCB heating component arises in connection with electric components which, when in operation, need a temperature which should be as constant as possible, such components being, e.g., oscillators.
Such PCB heating components for oscillators are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,728 B1 and JP 2000315916A. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,728 B1 an oscillator arranged in a case is heated by a heating element controlled by a control circuit. In JP 2000315916A a piezoelectric oscillator is described whose temperature is controlled by a PCB heating component including a control circuit.